Skull: A Concept
by Idees
Summary: One-shot: A small concept/story idea I had over Skull. What is his history, what is hidden there? Incomplete.
1. Chapter 1

**Skull : Idea Concept**

AN: A few days ago, I was brainstorming, got lost on the road of life, discovered and felt sorry for Skull. There are some many possibilities that one could use to tweak Skull's history and personality. Think about it, Skull is a nervous, coward-ish cloud guardian, seeming like someone who is pathetic and unfit to be an arcobaleno, so what was it that Checkerface saw in him? A boy hidden beneath a mask, a bloody, dangerous history, a tragic childhood that no one knows? or maybe is the greatest loser? Personally, I find him adorable. This chapter was originally a concept about a story I had for Skull, but then I realised things would've gotten out of hand, so I stopped here. It has not been revised or anything, but maybe one day I'll come back and look over it. For now, it'll stay incomplete.

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The day Skull realized he was different, was the day he found himself lying on the ground surround by a pool of his own blood. His body was riddled full of bullet holes, making him feel like swiss cheese, albeit a bloody swiss cheese at that. He couldn't remember how old he was at that stage, maybe seven or eight years old. All he could remember at that stage, was the sudden realisation that he shouldn't be alive, especially with so many bullet holes in his body.

If his family survived, because there was a vague recollection that Skull's family was dead at that point - probably also lying there in a pool of blood, they might've done what any normal family would've done and freak out. Or maybe not, Skull couldn't remember anything about them anyways. Later on in his life, Skull would've had day dreams to which his parents would come back to life like he did and come pick him up at the orphanage. Skull would then realise months later, that yes, his family was dead and no, they wouldn't have come back to life like he did and was wrong, abnormal in that aspect. Very much so. But to Skull, none of that matters, it was annoying but he could manage.

What mattered the most was Skull's first memory of dying involved lying in a pool of his own blood. And with that day, Skull was never the same, especially since he woke up in a coffin in a mausoleoum of some kind. Apparently he was a descendant from some rich family and it was family burial place. Even to this day, he could never go near that specific graveyard.

Anyways, back to the subject, Skull's first memory consisted of lying in a pool of his own blood, which was morbid in a sense. He didn't consider it his worst memory of dying, it was actually pretty mild compared to the Ferris Wheel death and the Big Bonfire Death, as he so fondly calls them. And there were a bunch of others, for example, the airplane crash, not a typical fall in the ocean one either, although he had one of those, this one involved crash into mainland, surviving pieces of sharpnel and being burnt alive by fire fueled by jet fuel. This fire couldn't be doused by water or rolling on the ground, because airplane fuel is much stronger then normal fuel, in the end, Skull had been burning for three days straight. Pretty painful. He even starved to death at some point of his life, maybe several times. All in all, Skull had bad memories that involved dying.

But Skull had long given up on living in the past, it was pointless in his eyes, who wants to remember every single bad thing done to them? Definitely not Skull. Although he did learn to be a bit more cautious to revealing how far his regenaration go, especially around other people, and especially Verde, who knows what that crazy scientest would do. Because one thing Skull learnt in his entire life the best, was never trust anyone, especially when you can regrow an entire arm in a week and a half.

Sighing, Skull placed his head between his knees, curling up further into a ball. The cell he was sitting in was dank, dark and partially filled with water. It was cold and no source of light or warmth could be found, the cell resembled some sort of sewer room or such. His biker suit was gone and replaced with an orange jumpsuit, making it seem like Skull was prisoner, which he was. It did clash horrible with his hair though.

Some mafia family, one of the Carcassa's rivals, somehow caught Skull unaware and brought him here. It was uncertain how long Skull had been in that cell, but he knew he was gone for awhile. It was always something like this, Skull would get captured by a rival famiglia, get either tortured or get left in a cell out of the way, sometimes there were people who tried to bribe Skull onto their side. But he always escaped, usually by dumb luck on his part.

A sound of distant metal creaking brought Skull out of his stupor and made him look up. After awhile, a distant clanging sound resounded nearby and soon standing before him was a very familiar man. " Ahhh, The Great Skull-sama of the Carcassa Famiglia, Skull from Hell, Skull the Deathless, the Amazing Stuntman. What a pleasure!" A mocking voice called out, the sudden load noise made Skull groan. " Having one of the Arcobaleno at my mercy is truly the greatest thing yet...Well it would've been, if you were deserving of the title of the guardian of the Purple pacifier. The most incompetent Cloud ever to exist..." The Man paused, a mocking silence. " Not really worth keeping you alive, eh?" To this, Skull kept quiet, glaring at the man as best as he could. " I would've called your fellow buddies to come trade for you..."

" But then again, they don't really care for you, do they?" The man smirked as he stepped forward, showing his profile to Skull. " After all, who wants the very man when even the Grim Reaper did not want anything to do with him, hmmmm?" The man chuckled as he walked forward to Skull, after a moments pause, he placed his hand on the Cloud's head and relaxed it there for a moment. Skull felt uneasy by this. "Hmmmm, can you tell me?" Another pause, this one contemplative, before a harsh grip took hold of purple hair. " Well, I can you the answer." The man harshly stated, as he pulled the stuntsmans face up to glare at him. "Absolutely no one." The man had let go of Skull and walked back to the door. " I am Don Dominque of the Fenicottero famiglia. Tch!~~"

Skull stared silently at the door, his face blank of emotion, but if someone were to be watching Skull's face carefully, they would've noticed the small smirk starting to appear on his face. 'Once again, underestimating me, the Great Skull-sama is your downfall.' The Cloud thought, as he shifted into a standing position. 'I always ...ummmm...' Skull shrugged, the took out the piece of cloth he tore from the mans suit. 'Hmmmm, right, it's been awhile since I did something like this, now...what was the trick again?' Contemplatively, Skull rubbed the object in his hand, trying to remember how to do the specific trick again. 'Come on...It was something very obvious, something very obvious...'

Two hours later, Skull was walking out if his prison.

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AN: Still have no idea why no one bothers writing stories about him. Probably my favorite char in KHR. I always seem to vote for the underdogs...


	2. Chapter 2

**Skull: A Concept**

**AN: I do not Own KHR**

Anyways, the second chapter is here for everyone. :)

**Beta-reader: QueenofRhymes**

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A Mistaken Name

"Hmmm, have you heard?" An Italian man in his middle ages asked.

The person he addressed, clearly also of Italian descent, shook his head and replied:

"No, what is it?"

The taller of the two huffed as he gazed at his friend. He then murmured to himself:

"I wonder how you are still alive…", He paused. A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he asked, "…Did you hear about the Fenicottero Famiglia? That the entire famiglia went missing? I heard it disappeared under mysterious circumstances."

The other frowned, then shrugged before voicing his own suspicions on the matter:

"Well, it was probably that damn Reborn who did it. Knowing him, they probably tried to one him up, but ended up receiving the short end of the stick."

The taller Italian seemed to agree, though his face clearly showed that he was partially dubious. He voiced his doubts by whispering almost inaudibly:

" But an entire famiglia gone…"

His voice sounded so disbelieving, so shocked. The man's reluctance to accept the situation as a mere disappearance was palpable. The bewilderment his face had managed to hide so well was betrayed by the confusion his voice had held when he had spoken. It seemed that no matter how much he tried to convince himself that his suspicions were just a figment of his imagination, he just could not shake off his gut feeling that was now screaming at him, telling him that there was more to the Fenicottero Famiglia's sudden disappearance than met the eye.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain purple-haired stunts man was sitting on a nearby bench, reading a newspaper, while unconsciously listening in on their conversation. Skull frowned when he heard their assumptions of who took down the Fenicottero, but didn't say anything. Sighing, Skull folded the newspaper and threw it in the nearby trashbin, before he walked off in the opposite direction of the two Italian men.

His shoulders were slumped forward. His steps were strangely faster than normal. His brows were furrowed and his fists were clenching and unclenching. There was a deep line forming on his forehead from all the frowning he had been doing in the past few minutes. It became more prominent when he said through a grunt:

"Tch, Reborn gets the credit, even if he is on the other end of the world, all the way in Japan…"

Skull muttered more incoherent thoughts angrily under his breath. He inhaled sharply and tried to calm down. He managed to suppress the urge to slam his fist into a nearby brick wall. Skull managed to stop the unconscious clenching and unclenching of his fists. After a few minutes a slightly triumphant and pleased sigh escaped the tight hold of his lips. Despite all that and his efforts to calm down, his fury had yet to cease.

This was the reason why Skull huffed angrily before kicking a can, which had been in his path. He wasn't wearing his usual attire, which would have probably registered as odd to some. Instead he was wearing a plain grey shirt, black cargo pants and combat boots. His usual chain piercing was gone from his face and the makeup that usually covered his whole face was now a plain, white base. He looked more like someone who was sulking, which he was, rather than his confident, obnoxious self. But then again, it was odd no one took notice of a baby running around, especially with make up on, since a lot of people in this town considered themselves concerned individuals and upstanding citizens.

Sighing, Skull took out a photo of an Italian man. The man was dressed in a formal Armani suit with a blood red tie. He was beardless and his face was set into a friendly smile, but if someone looked closely enough towards the man's chocolate brown eyes, they'd notice a deranged glint in it. He was a handsome man in his own right, but compared to more attractive males, he'd easily get lost in the crowd. But what really seemed eerie in the photo, was the strange person in the background, their features unidentifieable.

The man in the photo was long gone, dead, assassinated for an advantage. Skull could care less about him, especially since he wasn't a really important person. What Skull was actually after, was the person in the background. This person was the only one Skull the Deathless was after, and so far, he hadn't succeeded. Another dead end, another photo to add to the pile, another date to add to the endless chain of numbers, weeks and months that had been memorized by his brain for they had been considered important. It frustrated the stuntsman, always so close, but never close enough. It was aggravating, to say the least. It made him agitated. It made him feel angry, furious even, but his rage would not be soothed tonight for there was nothing else he could do.

Letting out another exasperated sigh, Skull pocketed the picture and continued walking down the street, ignoring everyone else around him and in return - being overlooked by them.

* * *

_~Namimori, Japan~_

Reborn frowned. The incident with the Fenicottero famiglia bothered him. Many of the rumors claimed it was him who was responsible for their sudden disappearance. But he could not have committed such a crime for he was in Namimori training his Dame-student and had been here when the troublesome accident had occurred.

'_Could it be someone is using my name for notoriety?'_ Reborn pondered, but then shoot down that thought immediately. _'No, if they had, I would've heard people claiming that the world's greatest hitman was there. And I would've dealt with them swiftly…'_

Frowning, Reborn glanced at his student who was still sleeping. Tsuna was curled up around his pillow, snoring. Reborn smirked and gestured for Leon to turn into his hammer form, and promptly whacked his student on the head. Tsuna immediately shot up. He was now wide awake and while rubbing his sore head, grumbled under his breath:

"Reborn."

He soon whined, and then winced. Tsuna fought the urge to glare as he noticed Reborn's blank face. The thing that slightly troubled him, however, was the sadistic glint in his teacher's eyes that suggested Reborn was planning something humiliating for Tsuna. With a sinister smirk Reborn said:

"A mafia boss should always be prepared for anything, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna frowned and exclaimed his usual reply.

"But I don't want to be a mafia boss!" He grumbled but Reborn, as usual, ignored Tsuna's complaints and went downstairs. He was starting to get a headache for the incident with the Fenicottero Famiglia was still brewing in his mind.

Nana Sawada had made an excellent breakfast that morning, but then again, she always cooked the best food. Of all the years Reborn had experienced eating fine cuisine, most couldn't compare to Nana's cooking. Sitting down in his usual seat, Reborn picked up his cup of Italian espresso and continued pondering on the Fenicottero famiglia, his mind going in circles and seemingly not getting anywhere.

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A/N: Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, The second chapter of Skull: A concept. As you might have noticed, the style have writing has changed somewhat. I have a beta-reader, who has been helping me alot with my writing, since I'm a very impatient and rushy person. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, not sure when I'll update it, but I have another story planned. So we'll see.

Oh, and say thanks to them, since they were the reason why I updated this story. :)

Date Published: 2015/01/22 (22nd of January, 2015)


	3. Chapter 3

**Skull: A Concept**

**That Man in Purple**

A hazy, summer morning filtered through the small, abandoned park. Lying in the middle of the park, underneath a small oak tree, was Skull. The stuntman was currently dozing off lightly, resting peacefully in the silence that filled the place he was currently occupying. The only thing that deterred him from falling asleep completely was the often shifting around in different positions. Fortunately for him, there was no stress of work or pursuit following him that day, just him and a peaceful mind.

Usually on days like this, Skull would go to the café nearby and eat there. But Skull currently wasn't in the mood for social interaction, especially since some of his fans frequented there often and would usually mob him to get an autograph. And, then there were those fans who would try to go even further than autographs. Those were the ones Skull had to watch out for and being forced to constantly be alert would not help him relax in the slightest. That was the reason why this park was the perfect place for him to rest. It was actually an abandoned one and therefore it did wonders for Skull's frayed nerves and emotional stability.

As time passed, Skull started pondering on the things that had happened to him prior to this day. He knew that sometimes dying was not fun. Scratch that, it never was, but Skull could usually brush off the psychological effects. Some days, however, Skull needed a break, and this was one of those days and he would receive what he desperately needed even if it meant missing an Arcobaleno meeting.

Ok, so maybe Skull was a little bit anxious over skipping the meeting, but it's not like the others hadn't missed a few as well. He was not that apprehensive about not attending the meeting because he had nothing in common with the rest of the Arcobaleno, other than the fact that he possessed the power to conjure cloud flames. Other than that nothing connected them. He never grew up as a part of the mafia, nor did he have the ruthlessness to kill someone… Well, he originally didn't. Another difference was the fact that his fighting skills did not come from personal training, but attending self-defense and Krav Maga classes. But learning a fighting style and actually using said fighting style against opponents who had better experience in general were two completely different things. There was once also the possibility of not even finishing said classes.

There was also another reason why Skull would be absent was that none of the Arcobaleno seemed to be particularly fond of him. There were numerous things their disdain could be pinpointed to, but there was one chief reason. More often than not this question was asked - how could a boy with no experience with the mafia be an Arcobaleno? It seemed to infuriate everyone in the mafia that someone with no experience and who was seemingly quite useless, was chosen as an Arcobaleno, rather than those who had secretly been training and prepping for it. The Arcobaleno seemed to be the grumpiest of the lot, though. In fact, Skull reckoned that if he didn't appear, they'd end up celebrating in their own way. This thought actually spurred Skull to appear in all the meetings, just to ruin the mood.

Huffing, Skull turned around sluggishly, pouted and the proceeded to pick at the grass near the roots of the trees. Focusing on his surroundings, Skull could make out many things in the park such as the smell of wet tree bark, wild flowers and moss. The fluttering of a butterfly's wings, the chirping of the birds and the wind blowing past the leaves reached his ears . Frowning in concentration, Skull spotted a ladybug on one of the blades of grass to his left, not noticing the figure coming up from behind him.

Suddenly someone grabbed him. The abruptness with which Skull was slammed into the tree made him shriek in both pain and surprise. A hard crack was heard as Skull moaned from the agony the collision with the solid tree bark caused.

"Owww…" Skull whimpered, as he sat up and rubbed his injured head. Looking up, Skull scowled at the baby standing in front of him.

"Reborn…" He whined, pouting at the fedora wearing baby. He then asked "…What did you do that for?"

Skull felt a shiver crawl up his spine after he blurted that out. His body shuddered involuntarily when his gaze met with that of Reborn.

"Useless lackey, when the Arcobaleno have a meeting, everyone must show up. No one gets special treatment." Reborn stated, secretly infuriating Skull.

Folding his arms, the stuntsman glanced to the side and glowered. He then asked piteously, "And what happens if I was doing something important?"

"Lackey, you are clearly not doing anything important. Get up and move." Reborn barked at him as he prepared to leave.

_'Once again… Another reason why I can never truly be an Arcobaleno. I'm not treated as one of them. No special treatment my ass. You, Viper, Verde and Colonello often do not show up. Fon is too considerate of others to not show up.'_

Skull inwardly frowned as his mind took a different route. He once again mentally recited one truth that never changed – clearly, if you were not considered strong enough, then you were not allowed to have an opinion.

_'It seems that even if they don't want me there, they actually prefer it in order to keep an eye on me rather than allowing me to run free.'_

Standing up, Skull strolled out of the park, only just realizing that Reborn had disappeared. Skull sighed as he inwardly grumbled.

_'Didn't even have the decency to wait for me?__Damn Reborn...'_

Huffing, Skull walked past the café he often visited. As he strolled down the streets he realized that oddly enough, even as a baby, everyone recognized him which was quite peculiar given the fact that no one actually noticed that he was a baby. He could not help but wonder why.

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**A/N: **The long waited third chapter. Once again, thank Queen of Rhymes for beta-proofing it. Please leave a review over your thoughts and queries.


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